‘Saving face’ – pretending that appearance is reality – brings its own problems, one of which is echoed in the story of the Emperor’s new clothes which, of course, were non-existent but no-one but a small child had the innocence or courage to mention the obvious, whereupon, in the story, the ‘spell’ was broken, the nakedness revealed.
An unnamed Chinese official mentions the obvious in respect to the South China Sea and the conflicting interests of all the countries which border this body of water – they are small, we are big.
It may not have been the exact words but the large/small aspect was ‘writ large’ in the message – ‘Might is right.’ It isn’t. That’s not to say it doesn’t work but it doesn’t make it right.
The English Channel is not owned by Britain, The name describes location not ownership just as it does with the South China Sea.
The spiritual sources of Chinese culture have much to say about Empire, the move to expansion and the dangers of neglecting the edges of the Empire and the legitimate interests of neighbouring countries. If they’re not dealt with in a fair manner the build up of resentment will manifest. Much better for the Empire to show some moral courage and place their interests below their smaller neighbours – a process which encourages trust and goodwill.
I haven’t absorbed this from a British upbringing but from Chinese sources which have stood the test of time and whose principles apply equally to the running of a household, a garden or an Empire.
The British Empire had a democracy of sorts at home but didn’t do likewise within its empire. The empire is gone, resentment remains. Same for the American Empire, teetering on the brink as its currency is devalued and its society hollowed out.
There is no magic answer to what besets the world. Here it’s cold but the sun shines. All looks normal. I know it’s not.
I’ve finished reading Velikovsky’s ‘Ages in Chaos’ which, unless you’re very familiar with both Hebrew and Egyptian histories which I’m not, is not an easy read. He makes the case for there being a six hundred year disparity with these histories and that, for the accounts to match, one of these accepted histories is wrong.
Where his book ‘Worlds in Collision’ fired my imagination and changed my perception of the past, this work goes into such minute detail – as it must – that my eyes glaze over and I’m none the wiser as to Egyptian and Hebrew chronology except to recognise that history is a fabric much patched and perhaps unrecognisable to those who actually lived it.
Thank God for music and the time and inclination to play, practice and develop.